On to Paris – Tennessee, That is!

As I’d promised, this posting is all about Paris!  Paris Tennessee just isn’t that far south of Paducah Kentucky where we’d overnighted before heading back to Tennessee.  As you will see in a subsequent posting, I had a plan that led me due south into our home state…

Tobacco is a proven killer worldwide…but it is quite beautiful while still in the fields.  We passed this field of tobacco leafs as we drove south through Kentucky.  Kentucky is the second largest producer of tobacco in the USA with 149,830,000 pounds after North Carolina with 380,250,000 in 2017.  FYI, China is far and away the largest producer of tobacco in the world, followed by India and Brazil with the USA coming in fourth. 

While still in Kentucky, we passed through the town of Murray.  We were able to locate the old Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railroad Depot.  It has definitely seen better days…

The railroad line between Paris Tennessee to Paducah Kentucky was built around 1890.  From about 1994 through 2004, a nostalgia railroad, the Hardin Southern, operated passenger excursions from Hardin Kentucky to Murray.  It appears that the KWT Railroad (Kentucky West Tennessee) with 69 miles of track used this depot for something at some point but it sure looks abandoned now.

In about 2007, there was an effort to save the depot and move it to a nearby park in town adjacent to the old railroad freight house which now serves as the Playhouse in the Park.

  

Then we arrived in Paris… No Arc de Triomphe or Cathedral of Notre Dame, but there are a plethora of buildings in town that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  There actually is a 70 foot tall replica of the Eiffel Tower in this Paris, but somehow we missed it…

This Richardsonian Romanesque style building is the Henry County Courthouse.  Paris, with a population of about 10,200, is the County Seat.  This is Henry County’s fourth courthouse.  It was completed in 1896.  FYI, the county was named after Patrick Henry, one of America’s most famous founding fathers.

Henry Hobson Richardson, the architect for whom this style was named also designed Trinity Church in Boston Massachusetts.  He first used key elements of this style when he designed the Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane in Buffalo New York back in 1870. 

Note: 

• In State vs. Gilbert (1845), a slave named Gilbert was accused of killing his master and burning the barn to cover the murder.  During his trial, Gilbert was found guilty, made a full confession and was subsequently hanged at the county courthouse.  This was a significant cases as it marked the first time that slaves were allowed to testify in a court trial against white people. 

This is the U.S. Post Office located at 101 West Wood Street.  The original section of this one-story, Colonial Revival, brick building was completed in 1908.  The Colonial Revival design is typical of post office construction in the early 1900's.

Government architect James Knox Taylor designed this building as well as many similar post office structures.  Taylor was Supervising Architect of the United States Department of the Treasury from 1897 to 1912.  In addition to a plethora of post office buildings, he was also responsible for the design of both the Denver and Philadelphia Mints, Alaska’s Governor’s Mansion and the Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital. 

The Crawford/Porter house at 407 South Dunlap Street was built by Thomas Crawford ca. 1850.  It’s especially notable as the residence of Tennessee Governor James Davis Porter between 1887 and his death in 1912. 

Porter was an attorney, politician, educator and an officer in the Confederate Army.  He was Tennessee’s Governor from 1875 to 1879.  He also served as Assistant Secretary of State and as Minister to Chile during President Cleveland’s terms in office.

Porter served much of the Civil War as Chief of Staff to Confederate General Benjamin F. Cheatham, seeing action is several battles in Tennessee and Georgia.  He spent his later years as chancellor of the University of Nashville and as President of Peabody College, also in Nashville.

This brick combination passenger and freight railway depot was built by the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railroad.  I noted various dates of its construction…including 1896, 1903 and 1910.  Passenger service continued here until 1951.

The tracks are still utilized by KWT/Kentucky and West Tennessee Railway, a short line operation that connects to the CSX main line.  The tracks were originally laid down by the Paducah, Tennessee and Alabama Railroad.  I was happy to see that the old depot is still in use, now occupied by the Vicky Muzzall Tax Service… 

The brick and stone First Baptist Church at 100 East Ruff Street was built ca. 1920.  The façade is an interesting mix of Ionic columns, double doors with a transom containing 8 Union Jack design lights and a brick Doric motif pilaster over a stone base.  It is a striking design...

I failed to obtain the address of this handsome old home that’s located in one of 2 residential districts in Paris that are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.  They are the North Poplar Street Historic District and the West Paris Historic District.

Then there is the Paris Commercial Historic District.  It’s a collection of late 19^th and early 20^th century commercial buildings in downtown Paris.  The district includes a total of 52 buildings.  It’s centered around the 19^th century public square.

As you can see from the photos, these structures are generally 2 – 3 masonry structures that reflect a number of styles, including Italianate, Victorian, Romanesque, Colonial Revival commercial forms from back in the late 1800s and early 1900s.  Many of the store fronts have been altered but most of the original detailing in the upper facades have been retained.

In the first photo the buildings at 106 – 112 North Market Street are of the Colonial Revival style and they were built in 1899.  108 North Market Street, now the home of Maggie’s Boutique, was once a bank.  All the buildings are occupied with My Favorite Things at 106, World Finance Corp. at 110, Queens of Paris at 112A and the A La Mode Sweet Shop at 112B.

Very few new buildings were built in and around Paris’s Courthouse Square during the 1920s.  However, as shown in this photo, a 5-story structure was built in 1926 at 101 – 109 North Poplar Street.  At that time, it was the First National Bank.  It still serves as a bank, now as a central branch of the Commercial Bank and Trust.

At 111 North Poplar, this 2-story brick structure was completed in 1890.  As you can see, it now serves as the Trust Department for the Commercial Bank and Trust.  The colorful 2-story Italianate designed building next door at 113 North Poplar was built in 1880 although most of the storefront dates to about 1925.   It’s occupied by the Johnson Agency.  Note the 3 attic windows with rounded arches and floral motif grills.

The grouping of 3-story Italianate style buildings on West Washington Street were built ca. 1880.  Despite the changes/modifications at street level, they are a striking and eye-pleasing example of commercial architecture from the period.  Computer Help occupies 112 West Washington, with the Golden Dragon Chinese Restaurant at 114 and Paris 5 and 10 (an event center), at 116 West Washington. 

The 2-story Italianate building at the left in the photo, 118 and 120 West Washington, occupied by Antiques on the Square and The Toggery, were also built ca. 1880.

So why did I list all of the occupants of these historic old buildings?  The fact is that all of the buildings are in use…not vacant or abandoned!  Somehow Paris Tennessee and its merchants have not deserted their historic town square but have maintained or turned it into a true commercial center.       

This may be controversial to many but this old monument on the Henry County Courthouse lawn is a monument erected in honor of the county’s citizens who served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War.  The statue, entitled “Private of ‘61” was dedicated by former Governor Porter on New Year’s Day in 1900.  Memorials like this are slowly disappearing from public places…

This is the E.K. Jernigan House at 207 Dunlap Street in Paris.  The 2-story brick Second Empire style home was completed in 1910 and it is the only example of this architectural style remaining in the town.

 

Note: 

• E.K. Jernigan acquired his wealth by investing in E.W. Grove’s Paris Medicine Company.  Mr. Grove’s primary claim to fame was his “Grove’s Tasteless Chill Tonic”, an improvement over taking straight quinine for the fevers and chills caused by malaria.  Grove did rather well for himself, later developing the Atkins Park and Grove Park sections of Atlanta Georgia as well as the Grove Park Inn in Asheville North Carolina.  The Inn, which was built in 1913 is now the 4-star Omni Grove Park Inn.  Check it out at https://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/asheville-grove-park.

I couldn’t find out much about the First Presbyterian Church at 201 South Market Street other than the fact that this Colonial Revival brick structure was completed in 1916. 

I found out even less about the First United Methodist Church other than that the congregation has been in existence in Henry County since 1831.  This striking building is located at 101 East Blythe Street.

The 2-story home of Paris Masonic Lodge #108 was built in 1924.  It’s said to have been built in the vernacular style…

What is the vernacular style?  I had to learn more… It turns out that vernacular architecture is a style that’s based on local needs, construction materials and traditions.  Initially, it didn’t use formally-schooled architects but utilized the skills and tradition of local builders.  Does this really mean that this term is a ‘catch-all’ for design that can’t be easily categorized?    

Grace Church is located less than a block from the Henry County Courthouse and it’s the oldest church building in the county.  It was founded by 3 women back in 1894.  The original building, (right side of the photo), at 103 South Poplar Street was completed in 1904 at the cost of $3,500.  The 3 dedicated ladies even convinced financier J.P. Morgan to pay for the roof.  There is a large Tiffany-designed window over the altar that was built at the Tiffany facility in Versailles, France.  It cost $1,800 and it’s believed to be one of the earliest Tiffany-designed windows in the USA…

That’s about it for our quick tour of Paris… The next time we're in Paris we’ll check out the Eiffel Tower!  Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by for a tour!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave